Transportation Research News
Explore our archive of transportation and mobility research news stories.
Dec. 1, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offers guidance for compressed natural gas vehicle maintenance facilities with a new handbook and webinar that outline safety factors and standards.
Nov. 28, 2017
In a recently released report, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) identified best practices and lessons learned in deploying fleet telematics at a federal agency. The report provides an overview of telematics capabilities, lessons learned from telematics deployed in the Marine Corps fleet, and recommendations for fleet managers to maximize value from telematics.
Nov. 21, 2017
As cities and states continue to explore mobility options, new fuel and vehicle adoption will play a large part in fulfilling that vision. Two new guides from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provide insights for informing clean transportation project management practices and implementing these types of projects successfully.
Nov. 16, 2017
The director of the Materials Science Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).
Nov. 14, 2017
NREL's Energy Storage and REopt Teams are recipients of a $525k monetary award to commercialize building-integrated energy storage control strategies, working with private industry partner, Eaton Corporation. These funds from the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) at the Office of Technology Transition (OTT) are part of 19.7 million in total funding provided to help businesses move promising energy technologies from the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Laboratories to the marketplace, encompassing 54 projects across 12 National Laboratories and involving more than 30 private-sector partners.
Nov. 14, 2017
NREL's QCORD project poised to help auto industry ramp up production
Nov. 7, 2017
New State-of-the-Art Equipment Expands Research Capabilities
Oct. 27, 2017
NREL is Helping to Safely Power Our World One Controlled Explosion at a Time
Oct. 26, 2017
In the U.S. engineering world, R&D 100 Awards are the equivalent of Oscars, and the Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Award is the United Kingdom (UK) version on the other side of the pond. In September, NREL partners from University College London (UCL), along with NASA, the European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF), and the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL), won an Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Award in the category of Safety & Security for lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery safety research using NREL's patented, R&D Award-winning Battery Internal Short Circuit (ISC) Device.
Oct. 25, 2017
Shortening recharge times may diminish range anxiety and increase electric vehicle (EV) market viability. Therefore, speeding up battery charging is crucial to improving the convenience of owning and driving an electric vehicle (EV). The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and industry stakeholders to identify the technical, infrastructure, and economic requirements for establishing a national extreme fast charging (XFC) network.
Oct. 12, 2017
Partner Week, part of NREL's 40th anniversary celebrations, highlighted collaborators through a series of workshops and networking events.
Oct. 6, 2017
This week the National Renewable Energy Laboratory joins others across the United States to celebrate the third National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day on Oct. 8--10.08--a date chosen to represent the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008). Here's a recap of a few of our hydrogen and fuel cell research impacts from the last year.
Oct. 5, 2017
NREL establishes first demonstration project in United States.
Oct. 4, 2017
A new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) quantifies how much charging infrastructure would be needed in the United States to support various market growth scenarios for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs).
Oct. 3, 2017
As the number of electric vehicles in Colorado continues to rise, the demand for publicly accessible charging stations increases as well. In partnership with the Regional Air Quality Council and the Colorado Department of Transportation, NREL conducted a study to help the state predict consumer demand for charging stations.
Sept. 28, 2017
Self-driving cars are the future of transportation, but little is known about their impact on energy demands. NREL's Chris Gearhart is leading a multi-lab initiative to maximize the combined potential of innovations in connectivity, automation, multi-modal systems, behavioral science, urban science, vehicles, and infrastructure.
Sept. 21, 2017
In an important step toward furthering intelligent, efficient, and autonomous electric vehicles, NREL plans to partner on research and development efforts with EasyMile, a French smart mobility solutions company with offices in Denver, Colorado, and Singapore.
Aug. 24, 2017
Commercial electricity customers who are subject to high demand charges may be able to reduce overall costs by using battery energy storage to manage demand, according to research by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Aug. 17, 2017
In this DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office webinar, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will present information to familiarize project developers and other interested parties with the DOE tools available to assist in permit preparation.
Aug. 8, 2017
Finding new ways to manage fuel costs of heavy-duty off-highway vehicles can go a long way towards reducing overall operating costs in industries such as construction and mining, which can help contractors and operators remain competitive in the marketplace. This requires equipment that can perform optimally, while minimizing expenses.
July 27, 2017
NREL is leading one of four regional technical exchange centers to expand the domestic supply chain of fuel cell and hydrogen components and systems and improve U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.
July 6, 2017
A recently completed study by NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, of the anisotropic thermal conductivity of packed copper wire for electric-drive vehicle (EDV) motor applications, provides a baseline for the assessment of new materials and winding structures.
July 5, 2017
NREL and Texas A&M University have characterized the thermal performance of new, high-performance thermal interface materials (TIMs) capable of thermal resistance one-third lower than any other state-of-the-art TIM.
June 28, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy recently honored four NREL staff members for their outstanding achievements at the Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting.
May 23, 2017
A new Android version of the Alternative Fueling Station Locator App was recently released. The NREL-developed mobile application for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program joins the original iPhone version, and allows users to select an alternative fuel—including electricity, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol (E85), propane, and hydrogen—to find the 20 closest stations within a 30-mile radius.
May 11, 2017
NREL is partnering with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in California on a new Advanced Transit Bus Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) Project to develop and demonstrate VGI strategies and analytics to inform state-wide opportunities for transit agencies. The California Energy Commission is funding the $2 million project, which will span four years and includes a variety of partners.
May 8, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Forge Nano to commercialize NREL's patented battery materials and systems capable of operating safely in high-stress environments. A particular feature of the technology is the encapsulation of materials with solid electrolyte coatings that can be designed to meet the increasingly demanding needs of any battery application.
May 5, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office will present a live webinar titled "Manufacturing Competitiveness and Supply Chain Analyses for Hydrogen Refueling Stations" on Thursday, May 11, from 10 to 11 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time.
May 4, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recognized its innovation and partnering successes and honored the scientists and engineers behind them at the lab's annual Innovation and Technology Transfer Awards ceremony.
April 25, 2017
NREL has teamed up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and University College London for a study on lithium-ion battery failure using the lab's newly patented Battery Internal Short Circuit Device. A clear, in-depth understanding of what causes destructive, internal short circuits will set the stage for improved manufacturing processes to make these popular batteries safer in all applications.
April 20, 2017
A newly released report developed under the NREL-led Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative spotlights the primary causes of vehicle misfueling, resulting issues, and potential strategies for mitigation. Researchers want to avert any risk of drivers filling up with the wrong fuel when new Co-Optima high-performance formulas hit the market. The study drives home the need for more effective misfueling mitigation strategies to ensure the successful commercial rollout of any new fuels.
April 20, 2017
NREL has managed a variety of studies and partnerships under the Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology Experimentation (INTEGRATE) project, which aims to enable the nation's electric grid to handle increasing amounts of renewable energy. As part of this broad-reaching initiative, NREL's transportation team played a leadership role in INTEGRATE's transportation-related efforts, collaborating with industry partners and other national labs across the country.
April 4, 2017
The release in March of a new ASTM International high-octane fuel standard with guidance from NREL’s research engineer Robert McCormick is expected to impact the development of gasoline products compatible with vehicles that feature high-performance fuel-efficient engines.
March 23, 2017
Cutting-edge battery simulation tools developed by NREL and its partners in the Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) project are improving battery safety and performance, while driving down cost and development time.
Feb. 9, 2017
In January the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Hydrogen Education Foundation announced SimpleFuel as the winner of the $1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition to develop a home hydrogen fueling system. NREL acted as the independent validator for the competition by collecting and analyzing three months of system performance data and presenting the results to the independent H-Prize judges' panel.
Feb. 6, 2017
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a new report that spotlights key accomplishments the first year of the U.S. Department of Energy Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative.
Feb. 6, 2017
Robert L. McCormick, an engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been named a fellow of SAE International, an association for engineers and other technical experts in automotive, commercial-vehicle, and aerospace industries.
Jan. 10, 2017
Catalyst converts sustainable carbon sources into fuel for high-performance engines.
Jan. 9, 2017
The Energy Department (DOE) recently announced the award of funding to accelerate the development and deployment of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies, including $1.6 million for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support three projects led by industry partners Blossman Services, Blue Bird Body Company, and Odyne Systems, LLC. NREL will support these partners in advancing electric-drive and propane fuel technologies for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
